Weavers Story Bank
I have been caring for my wife with MS for nearly 25 years
Hi I’m Tony my wife was diagnosed with MS at a young age and I have been caring for her for nearly 25 years. Just last week she became violently ill and she was rushed by ambulance to the hospital. It turns out she had […]
Early communication with your loved ones is important
My name is Karen I am 38 years old and have learnt so many things when I was in the position of caring for my mum who had a long-term heart condition. One thing that really helped me to cope was having power of attorney […]
I am an only child and I always knew that caring for my dad would be my responsibility
Hi my name is Emma, I am an only child and I always knew that caring for my dad would be my responsibility when he deteriorated. He was a Vietnam vet and had kidney problems as a result of his exposure to Napalm. He got […]
Who are the people that can support me when I am caring for others?
My mother was deteriorating with dementia and her first fall was the beginning of a slow process of deterioration. Though my friends were around and helped listen to me every now and then, the real support came from my GP. He was there all through […]
How do I look after me in all of this?
Once I accepted and saw myself as a carer I made contact with a carer support service. They talked to me about the importance of looking after myself and got me to start thinking about me and what would help me.
Caring for someone who is far away
Caring from a distance Get a key box there so that people can let themselves in if I can’t make it. And you don’t need to have multiple sets of keys Personal alarm. I forced it on her, I put the neighbours as the next […]
How do we keep up our love of gardening?
Answered by Barry, husband of Geraldine What I tried… My wife Geraldine used to love to garden, but after her stroke, she found it hard to get out and do it. She got increasingly upset at me for not allowing her to garden. We decided to […]
How do we personalise the hospital experience?
Answered by Mike and Liz What we tried… Liz has been in hospital more times that I can count. It can be such a depersonalising experience. I did lots of different things in the hospital environment to make it more personable and homely for Liz. […]
How do I talk to my parents about getting older?
What I tried…. Having a really open conversation about what was on my mind. I didn’t make a big deal out of it – otherwise Dad would have gone off the deep end. I just shared what I was feeling. I made sure it […]
How do I get my siblings on the same page?
Answered by Maria what I tried…. There are 5 of us siblings helping Mum to live at home alone – even though she has quite advanced dementia. I take the lead role, but have a couple of nights off a week. I made a communication […]